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Inside Insurance: Watch your speed

Savannah Morning News

A north Georgia city's police department provides radar guns to properly trained local citizens in residential areas to monitor the speed of vehicles passing through.

These citizen activists are not authorized to issue tickets, but they get the license plate of those who exceed the posted speed limit, and the vehicle's owner receives a warning letter from the police department.

So far, so good. As I listened to the news report of this operation, one of the neighborhood residents made mention that while children are at play close to the streets, the "drivers don't realize how fast they are going."

That got my attention. In most every vehicle I have driven over my many years behind the wheel, the largest display item on the dashboard behind my steering wheel is the speedometer. And then I thought, she's probably right.

With all the distractions drivers face such as music, cell phones, passengers talking and whatever else, people may not pay attention to how fast they are traveling or how close they are to the vehicle in front of them.

The auto insurance industry reports that the average traffic crash repair costs between $2,500 and $2,900 per incident. When injuries occur either to those in the vehicles or pedestrians, the medical and legal components of the mishaps skyrocket.

Here's what motorists should consider, especially in or near a school zone, a residential area or a shopping area where there are a number of pedestrians:

Pay particular attention to the posted speed limits. There is simply no valid excuse for saying "I didn't realize how fast I was going."

Be on the lookout for children playing and slow down. If a ball or a Frisbee rolls into the street in front of you, there's probably going to be a child not far behind.

Remember that insurers check your motor vehicle record (MVR) periodically, and speeding tickets can have a direct negative effect on your insurance rates.

My favorite line of all from law enforcement in residential areas is, "What part of stop don't you understand," when a driver runs a stop sign. Slowing down doesn't count.

I have seen several news stories lately about children, older pedestrians and scooter/motorcyclists/bicyclists receiving serious injuries or worse. That's particularly troubling at a time when more and more cycles are on the road as people either exercise or deal with fuel costs on two wheels rather than four.

There is no excuse for not knowing how fast one is traveling with the speedometer staring you in the face, so pay attention to your speed instead of the lyrics to the song on the radio or the audio book you are trying to comprehend. A life may depend on it.

David Colmans is executive director of the Georgia Insurance Information Service. Contact him at 770-565-3806 or by e-mail at dcolmans@giis.org.